10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for January

Where to be

Here's your one-stop shop for innovation events in Houston in January. Getty Images

Start off the new year — and new decade — strong with tech and innovation events across Houston. From networking and panels to workshops and meetups, here's what Houston startup and tech events to attend in January.

If you know of innovation-focused events for this month or next, email me at natalie@innovationmap.com with the details and subscribe to our daily newsletter that sends fresh stories straight to your inboxes every morning.

January 9 — TransMedia Marketing® A New Paradigm

Phil and Karen Snyder are professors of Digital Media at University of Houston's College of Technology, and are the creators/developers of the University's unique Transmedia Marketing® Online Certificate Program. Reinventing the concepts of multi-platform storytelling, the Snyders apply them to marketing strategies. They share their experiences in their presentation: Transmedia Marketing® A New Paradigm.

Details: The event is from 11 am to 12:30 pm on Thursday, January 9, at The Cannon (1334 Brittmoore Road). Learn more.

January 9 — SBIR 101: A Practical Approach to Engaging with the US Air Force

At this event you will hear from Lt. Col. Eric Frahm, AFWERX chief product officer, and Ryan Erickson, AFWERX head of operations, who will present the details of engagement with the Air Force via the AFWERX SBIR process. Additionally, you will hear from Gustavo Sanchez (Pandata Tech) and Scott Schneider (HTX Labs), two Station Houston member companies that are on current AFWERX SBIR Phase II contracts, who will share their journeys through the SBIR process from customer discovery to securing customer MOUs to navigating bureaucratic hurdles such as non-US citizen employees.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 9, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin Street, Suite 2440). Learn more.

January 9 — How to be a side hustler

So, how do you make your aspirations of becoming your own boss come to life? Enter the side hustle. Come join General Assembly's lineup of speakers as they delivers a highly tactical tips and tricks on the how (and why) behind starting a successful side hustle while keeping your day job.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Thursday, January 9, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 14 — Employable in 2020: Closing the skills gap

What jobs will exist in 2030? Come along and hear from a panel of industry leaders on how to stay relevant in the rapidly changing space for 2030 and beyond.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Tuesday, January 14, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 16 — Practice Makes: Inclusion

Inclusion means a better world for all. It's about correcting mismatched human interactions and opening up experiences/products for everyone to participate.

Details: The event is from 6 to 8 pm on Thursday, January 16, at Accenture Houston (1301 Fannin Street). Learn more.

January 22 — Bots and Brews

"Bots & Brews," is the winter meetup of the Energy Drone & Robotics Coalition. It offers insights from energy unmanned experts, and rapid-fire use cases from cutting-edge drone, robotics solutions and startups for the energy, and industrial autonomous challenges of today and tomorrow.

Details: The event is Wednesday, January 22, from 4 to 7pm at Saint Arnold Brewery (2000 Lyons Ave). Learn More

January 23 — JLABS x IGNITE: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds

Join JLABS and IGNITE for an evening of rotating round table discussions as we tackle these questions and aim to forge a path forward for two of the most prohibitive factors at play: a lack of a robust network of female mentors and lack of investment dollars in female-led startups.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, January 23, at JLABS @ TMC (2450 Holcombe Blvd.). Learn more.

January 24 – 11th Annual WISE Luncheon

By celebrating the achievements of women leaders in science, we want to inspire others to pursue research and applications that will spur economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for our region and our state as a whole. WISE is more than just a luncheon. It is a place where everyone can come together to share their ideas, tell their stories and fall in love with math and science all over again.

Details: The event is from 11 am to 1 pm on Friday, January 24, at River Oaks Country Club (1600 River Oaks Blvd.). Learn more.

January 28 — E-Commerce Meetup & Panel Discussion with Kim Roxie

E-commerce is one of the industry's producing tech billionaires, and this panel will discuss the path to get there.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7 pm on Tuesday, January 28, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin Street, Suite 2440). Learn more.

January 29 — MassChallenge Texas in Houston 2020 Launch Event

MassChallenge Texas is launching both its Austin and Houston programs simultaneously. It's a good networking opportunity and a chance to learn more about this year's cohort.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday, January 29, at the Four Seasons Hotel (1300 Lamar St.). Learn more.

January 30 — Digital Storytelling for Your Startup: Deconstructing Digital and Social Media

Savvy digital storytelling is a powerful tool in your entrepreneurial toolbox. JLABS has tapped into The Black Sheep Agency for this workshop, where we'll break down digital strategy, tools, tips and tricks that will set you up for success both online and offline.

Details: The event is from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Thursday, January 30, at JLABS @ TMC (2450 Holcombe Blvd.). Learn more.

January 30 — Intro to the Houston Startup Community

This free event is an orientation to help newcomers to the startup scene get acquainted with the exciting world of tech in Houston. A panel of professionals will give you the inside scoop on Houston's key events and meetups, people, companies, VCs, blogs, programs, and more.

Details: The event is from 6:30 to 9 pm on Thursday, January 30, at GA Houston (1301 Fannin St, Floor 21). Learn more.

January 31 — Innovate Integrate Inspire

The Society of Petroleum Engineers' Gulf Coast Section is hosting its WIN Congress 2020. Expect to come away with invaluable gems and insights as an eclectic mix of oil and gas professionals talk about their challenges, opportunities, and give their best advice on how to reach the success you want.

Details: The event is from 7 am to 5 pm on Friday, January 31, at Hilton Garden Inn NW American Plaza (14919 Northwest Fwy). Learn more.

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Houston-area VC funding sunk to 5-year low in Q3 2025, report says

by the numbers

Fundraising for Houston-area startups experienced a summertime slowdown, sinking to a five-year low in the third quarter, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

The PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor shows startups in the Houston metro area attracted $204.4 million in venture capital from June through August. That’s 55 percent below the total for the previous quarter and 51 percent below the total for the third quarter of 2024.

More telling than those figures is that the third-quarter haul dropped to its lowest total for Houston-area startups since the fourth quarter of 2020, when $133.4 million in VC was raised. That was the third full quarter after health officials declared the pandemic in the U.S.

In Q3 2025, AI accounted for nearly 40 percent of VC deal volume in the U.S., Kyle Stanford, director of U.S. venture research at PitchBook, said in the report. And through the first nine months of 2025, AI represented 64 percent of U.S. deal value.

VC deal activity “has been nearly steady, emphasizing a consistent influx of companies, especially at the pre-seed and seed stages,” Stanford said. “Large deals remain the primary driver of market deal value, with almost all of these deals focused on AI.”

Bobby Franklin, president and CEO of NVCA, said that while fundraising hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic highs, deal values are going up in sectors such as AI, manufacturing, robotics and space tech, many of which have already exceeded their investment totals for all of 2024.

Meet 6 of the fastest-growing scaleup companies in Houston right now

meet the finalists

From raising funding rounds to earning FDA acceptance, some of Houston's most innovative companies have reached major milestones this year.

The 2025 Houston Innovation Awards will recognize their progress by bringing back our Scaleup of the Year category for the second year. The award honors an innovative later-stage startup that's recently reached a significant milestone in company growth.

Six breakthrough businesses have been named finalists for the 2025 award. They range from climatetech startups to a biotech company developing new drugs for neurodegenerative diseases and more.

Read more about these businesses and their impressive growth below. Then join us at the Houston Innovation Awards on Nov. 13 at Greentown Labs, when the winner will be unveiled at our live awards ceremony.

Tickets are now on sale for this exclusive event celebrating all things Houston Innovation. Corporate 10-packs, featuring reserved seating and custom branding, and individual tickets are still available. Secure your seats today.

Coya Therapeutics

Clinical-stage biotechnology company Coya Therapeutics (NASDAQ: COYA) has developed COYA-302 that enhances anti-inflammatory T cell function and suppresses harmful immune activity. The drug candidate is being advanced for several neurodegenerative diseases—including ALS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and frontotemporal dementia—and has demonstrated promising reductions in neuroinflammation in preclinical and early clinical studies, according to the company.

Coya, founded in 2021, received FDA acceptance for its investigational new drug application for COYA-30 this summer. It closed its IPO in January 2023 for more than $15 million and added $26 million in PIPE funding that same year. Last year, the company secured an additional $15 million in PIPE funding.

Fervo Energy

Houston-based Fervo Energy is working to provide 24/7 carbon-free energy through the development of cost-competitive geothermal power. The company is developing its flagship Cape Station geothermal power project in Utah, which is expected to generate 400 megawatts of clean energy for the grid. The first phase of the project will supply 100 megawatts of power beginning in 2026. The second phase is scheduled to come online by 2028.

The company raised $205.6 million in capital to help finance the project earlier this year and fully contracted the project's capacity with the addition of a major power purchase agreement from Shell. Founded in 2017 by CEO Tim Latimer and CTO Jack Norbeck, Fervo is now a unicorn, meaning its valuation as a private company has surpassed $1 billion. In March, Axios reported Fervo is targeting a $2 billion to $4 billion valuation in an IPO.

Koda Health

Houston-based Koda Health has developed an advance care planning platform (ACP) that allows users to document and share their care preferences, goals and advance directives for health systems. The web-based platform guides patients through values-based decisions with interactive tools and generates state-specific, legally compliant documents that integrate seamlessly with electronic health record systems. The company also added kidney action planning to its suite of services for patients with serious illnesses last year.

Koda Health was founded out of the TMC's Biodesign Fellowship in 2020 by CEO Tatiana Fofanova, chief medical officer Dr. Desh Mohan, and chief technology officer Katelin Cherry. The company raised a $7 million series A earlier this year, and also announced major partnerships and integrations with Epic, Guidehealth, Medical Home Network, Privia Health and others.

Mati Carbon

Houston climatetech company Mati Carbon removes carbon through its Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) program that works with agricultural farms in Africa and India. Mati says the farmers it partners with are some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The nonprofit won the $50 million grand prize in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition, backed by Elon Musk’s charitable organization, The Musk Foundation, earlier this year.

Mati Carbon scaled operations in India, Zambia, and Tanzania this year and has advanced its proprietary measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) platform, known as matiC, enabling seamless field data capture, chain-of-custody and carbon accounting at scale. The company was founded in 2022 by co-directors Shantanu Agarwal and Rwitwika Bhattacharya.

Molecule

Houston-based Molecule Software has developed an energy trading risk management (ETRM) platform that allows companies trading power, oil and gas, biofuels, renewables and more stay ahead as the markets evolve.

The company closed a Series B round earlier this year for an undisclosed amount. Sameer Soleja, founder and CEO of Molecule, said at the time that the funding would allow the company to "double down on product innovation, grow our team, and reach even more markets." The company was founded in 2012 by CEO Sameer Soleja and participated in the Surge Accelerator the same year.

Utility Global

Houston-based Utility Global has developed its proprietary eXERO technology that produces low-cost, clean hydrogen from water and industrial off-gases without requiring grid electricity.

First founded in 2018 by CEO Parker Meeks, the company participated in Greentown Labs and the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship programs. It raised a $55 million funding round earlier this year and launched commercial partnerships with ArcelorMittal Brazil and Hanwha Group in South Korea to deploy its hydrogen solutions at scale.

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The Houston Innovation Awards program is sponsored by Houston Community College, Houston Powder Coaters, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and more to be announced soon. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact sales@innovationmap.com.

Venus Aerospace picks up investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures

space funding

Venus Aerospace, a Houston-based startup specializing in next-generation rocket engine propulsion, has received funding from Lockheed Martin Ventures, the investment arm of aerospace and defense contractor Lockheed Martin, for an undisclosed amount. The product lineup at Lockheed Martin includes rockets.

The investment follows Venus’ successful high-thrust test flight of its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) in May. Venus says it’s the only company in the world that makes a flight-proven, high-thrust RDRE with a “clear path to scaled production.”

Venus says the Lockheed Martin Ventures investment reflects the potential of Venus’ dual-use technology for defense and commercial uses.

“Venus has proven in flight the most efficient rocket engine technology in history,” Venus co-founder and CEO Sassie Duggleby, a board member of the Texas Space Commission, said in a news release. “With support from Lockheed Martin Ventures, we will advance our capabilities to deliver at scale and deploy the engine that will power the next 50 years of defense, space, and commercial high-speed aviation.”

Chris Moran, executive director and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures, said Lockheed Martin has been a longtime supporter of early-stage “transformational” technologies.

“Our investment in Venus Aerospace reflects a conviction that next-generation propulsion will define which nations lead in space and defense for decades to come,” Moran added in the release. “We are committed to helping Venus scale this technology and integrate it into critical systems.”

Since its founding in 2020, Venus has secured more than $106 million in funding. In addition to Lockheed Martin Ventures, investors include Airbus Ventures, America’s Frontier Fund, Trousdale Ventures, and Prime Movers Lab. Supporters of Venus include NASA, the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
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